


Three Letters

by missdibley



Series: The Cohort [6]
Category: Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fluff, Letter, letter writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 22:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5181800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missdibley/pseuds/missdibley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>PhD student Tom Hiddleston writes some overdue letters to his mother and sisters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Letters

_Sunday, November 8_

_Dear Mum,_

_Thank you for the tea and the kettle. I know I said I’d manage to find one on my own, but I haven’t had the time, I’m afraid._

_My flat is near campus and, from what I can tell, quite safe. I’ve been sticking to well-lit paths when walking and biking around the neighbourhood. I am told that the University police force is the second largest in the state of Illinois and as I see uniformed officers in vehicles or on bicycles every day, I believe it._

_I remember what you said about finding a nice girl. But as this university concerns itself chiefly with “the life of the mind”, my heart may have to wait a bit longer._

_I didn’t mean to sound so maudlin so I apologize if this makes you sad. I assure you that I am happy and healthy despite missing you terribly._

_Counting the days until Christmas,_

_Your Thomas_

* * *

_Sunday November 8_

_Em,_

_If you can believe it, Chicago is even greyer and wetter and colder than London. The wind is strong, but I find it bracing, even when it hits me square in the chest whenever I run in the direction of Lake Michigan._

_I know you’re keen to visit, but I’m not sure if I can be a good host until I get my bearings, work-wise. We can figure it out when I’m home for Christmas._

_People are friendly, and everything is delicious. I know you’re mad for Chipotle but that is not proper Mexican food. When you come visit, I will take you to Maravilla’s for a proper burrito. You’ll see._

_xo T_

* * *

_Sunday, November 8_

_Dear Sarah,_

_I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to write. I didn’t arrive until just before the quarter and new student orientation began. Between those things and getting my flat sorted, I’ve been terribly busy. I can hear you harrumphing at me and accuse me of making excuses. Maybe I am but isn’t that what younger brothers do best?_

_In your letter you asked me what a typical day is like, so here it is: it’s exactly the same as when I was at Cambridge. Run, eat, class, eat, library, eat, work, bed. In a couple of years, I will have fulfilled the class requirements of my program, and moved onto working exclusively on my dissertation, as well as (hopefully) finding work as a research assistant for a good project._

_I share an office with Telly Fried. He’s from Texas but he doesn’t sound like it. He spends most of his time at his desk swearing at something — his laptop, the weather, the students who come by for my office hours. This, I suspect, is his natural state. I manage to do most of my work at the library, the main one, and leave the office to him. The library is always busy, but I’ve managed to find a corner deep in the stacks below ground where it is quiet and I can be alone._

_Don’t tell Mum, but I met somebody. If I may speak plainly, I fancy someone. I suspect she fancies me, too. She certainly acts like it. She always says that she’s not looking for a boyfriend, and that she is not my girlfriend. I hear her say this a lot, however, as I see her all the time._

_She exists in those spaces between those items I listed above, the events that make up my day. Run, eat a sticky bun on the way to class with her. Go to class, run into her at the coffee shop after. Eat lunch separately, find her at the library where we study a few shelves away from each other in the stacks. Once I found her in my flat, making me supper. She had somehow convinced my landlady to let her in to do it. I can’t remember the last time somebody who wasn’t you or Mum or Emma or even Pa did something nice like that for me._

_I’ve just agreed to join her and her family for Thanksgiving. Her parents will be in town, as will her twin brother. I wonder if they might be the type of family who will tell me funny stories about her as a girl._

_I wonder what she will tell them about me._

_Tom_


End file.
